City of Dreams
by Leaden Myr
Summary: Yo! The sound loses interest in Sasuke and captures a wounded Naruto for vague reasons. As Naruto trudges on throughout the story, he learns much more than he thought he would ever know... Diverges from Waterfall fight- Pairings Unknown...


Yes! I feel inspiration! I am going to write the best Naruto fic ever! Probably not. Right now there are only hetero pairings planned and Y'all have to convince me otherwise. But not SasuNaru. I don't hate Sakura that badly. And no pedophile / konohomaru. No, please no. By the way, Kabuto is alive and kickin' in this story. This is now officially starting, you NOOBS!

**City of Dreams**

**A CryptoPhage Production**

**By Wasabi Thorn Elemental**

The sound of cascading water could be heard in the background, as the two opponents faced each other. One, a hideous fiend twisted from a once handsome face. The other, a demon, with the anger and shock of fresh betrayal. One held electric blue lightning in his hand. The other a swirling red globe of death. Naruto and Sasuke faced each other in combat to the death.

The sound four, meanwhile, recovering from their battles with the Konoha-nin, heard a distant cry.

"You swine! Godamnit, Orochimaru has new orders. Top priority is the fox brat! As for Sasuke-kun..." Here Kabuto grinned evilly. "... You can cut his eyes out."

"So you're saying we have to take care of those two- Damn."

"Time's-a-wastin' people. Let's go!"

They arrived in a short while, craftfully evading pursuit from the hotheaded young Leaf-nin.

"Oh shit." Kabuto grimaced. This was not looking good. Sasuke had his fucking hand through Naruto's chest. Wow.

"You four- tackle Sasuke. I'll heal Naruto."

Blood bubbled from Naruto's lips as Kabuto carefully laid him on the ground. Kabuto made a few hand seals as a faint green aura encircled his hand. He put it to Naruto's chest, the wound rapidly closing. Naruto, out from the shock, lay in a useless prostrate lump on the ground. Kabuto cradled him in his arms.

"Yo! You four! Forget about Sasuke, just get behind me and guard me. We have a ways to go!"

Sasuke's point of view

As the sound-nin ran away with Naruto, Sasuke went out of his demon form, dumbfounded. They had just forsaken him. His only allies. He had nowhere to go but down now. Nobody out there for him. And the great Uchiha Sasuke began to cry. He kneeled down in the water sobbing loudly. He'd betrayed everybody he'd ever known as a friend for nothing. Just betrayal. And Naruto was gone. The only friend that never gave up on him. And he treated him like shit. Even in the end. Damn.

Rough arms heaved Sasuke's pitiful, whimpering form out of the water. Voices saying incomprehensible things, battering his fragile mind. Tears just continued to leak from his eyes, sobs racking his tired body.

"Where the hell is Naruto! What the hell happened to him!"

Sasuke just kept on crying.

Shikamaru curled his lip in scorn. "Pitiful"

Gaara hit one of Sasuke's pressure points and knocked him out cold.

There was no reconciliation until the next morning.

Next day at Konoha Hospital

"Sorry son. He's dead. Nothing we can do about it."

"Chouji... Chouji's my best friend! He can't be dead!"

But the medic-nin had already left.

Ino rushed in. "Hey Shika-kun, how's Chou..."

She was brusquely inturrupted by Shika's anguished tone. "He's dead, Ino. He's fucking dead. My best friend is FUCKING DEAD!" He was screaming by this time.

"Don't worry, he's probably in a better place right now..."Ino meekly stated.

"Shut the fuck up. Get out of my face."

As Ino slowly closed the door, she whispered in a barely audible voice, "I'm sorry, Shika-kun..."

As Shikamaru looked over Chouji's still form, he furiously stated, "It'll never be the same Uchiha, it will never be the same..."

Meanwhile at the Hidden Sound Village

Laughter rang out in Orochimaru's citadel. Watching Naruto try to crawl out of a 20 foot tall mud pit was pretty funny.

Armed with only one kunai, Naruto scaled the wall of the snake pit at a crawl. Twenty minutes later he had progressed five feet. Then ten. Then fifteen. Then twenty.

As his hand edged over the side, it was met with a Katana. His right hand floppimg uselessly, pinned like an insect, he gritted his teeth and flung his other hand over. His sadistic guard watched him struggle to get on solid ground. Once Naruto slipped from all fours onto the floor, the guard put a steel leash on him, pulling him around like a dog.

When the two finally reached Orochimaru's audience chamber, they were met by cruel laughter. The guard grinned.

"So, Naruto-kun, Orochimaru wants to tell you something. I suggest you listen, or else a less compromising leash may be employed." Kabuto grinned.

Orochimaru took this as an opportunity to speak. "I'm about to tell you why I captured you. I wan't your Kyuubi fox. The only thing of worth that you have."

Naruto growled. The guard took his opportunity. "Be respectful to Orochimaru-dono!"

He plunged a kunai into the Uzamaki's left shoulder, and roundhoused him into the wall.

"Y-you...th-thug..."

"I thought you'd be more respectful, "Orochimaru sneered. "Anyway, a little birdie told me that if I stole your body I'd have your power at my command."

"Yeah, right. The Kyuubi spits on trash like you."

This was followed by another roundhouse.

"Well, this birdie also gave me a complex permanent henge jutsu. I find your appearance soooo unnatractive compared to mine, so I've decided to use it on you. It is quite easy to resist but a year of the most intense torture I can give you might whittle you down a bit. Enjoy your stay...

One year later...

The serpents sensuously crawled across Naruto's body, covering him head to toe, a slithering mass. Normally, he would have freaked at the prospect of having hundreds of venomous, slimy reptiles cover him, but over the one year he live in the dark dank pit of snakes, he had gotten used to his extremely uncomfortable surroundings. Ever since the year he had been captured by Orochimaru and his Sound-nin, he had grown used to the countless sick twisted tortures his captors invented. He had seen the flesh on his chest go from medium rare to well done as the sound-nin's mark was branded on his chest. But where he lived was the place of nightmares.

He lived in a pit full of monstruous deadly snakes. The snakes constantly hissed and snapped at the newcomer in their domain, at first making Naruto jump in surprise, but he had learned not to react. In the beginning being bitten, pained him a great deal, but he always became stronger after each bite, his immunity to the venom building up.

In the middle of this grime ridden pit was a small dirty puddle. But it wasn't any ordinary puddle. It was a water demon. And upon discovering this Naruto began his escape.

Using his Harem no Jutsu, he forced the demon to bleed the medium that could be comparable to blood. In one lightning fast move he picked up the residue on his claw-like hands and signed the makeshift seal of contract scroll for the demon using his lucky guess at its name- Shinma no Mizu. Guessing correctly, Naruto had sealed a powerful demon that would obey his every whim. The first part of his plan had worked.

He would observe the Sound-nin and have his invisible pet demon copy their techniques and show them to him on his long nights at the snake pit. Being a twisting multiform creature he copied the signs with unerring accuracy, giving Naruto a perfect model. The demon was the perfect servant: silent, subservient, and efficient.

The next part of his plan involved the snakes. When an unknown Sound-nin gave him fish and rice Naruto went hungry to give his fish to the snakes. In turn they treated him with deference, as their master. He smiled. They were absolutely elemental.

He lay in the slime covered pit for a year, filth surrounding him. He lay and he waited. He waited throughout the pain, the blood red haze, the helplessness in Orochimaru's complex.

Right now, Naruto was chained to a chair, starved for a month straight, only Kyuubi's power keeping him alive.

Kabuto had a plate of sushi in front of Naruto, the traitorous leaf-nin taking delicate bites out of expensive wave country delicacies. "Mmm... tomorrow it's sashimi time. I love this job. Anyway, Naruto-kun, it'd be much easier if you just gave in." Kabuto's voice dropped to a whisper. "Change your damn hair. It'll buy us time. Don't you wan't to escape?"

"Huh?"

"Just do it."

"Fine!" Naruto shouted in fake indignation, catching on to Kabuto's plan.

Orochimaru's Complex

"Orochimaru-dono. I would like some time alone with the prisoner. My persuasion techniques work much better when we know that we aren't under surveillance."

Naruto inwardly smiked. His pure blonde hair had become slightly streaked with dark blue and black. But it was enough to pay for freedom. What Kabuto was saying was complete bullshit. He just wanted time alone to speak with Naruto. But for what reason, who knew?

In a few minutes, the two were walking out of Orochimaru's audience chamber, to their "torture and interrogation" session.

Once they were safely in the room, Kabuto exhaled heavily. "Thing is Naruto, I am going to stage a revolution, and I need your help."

"Why?"

"Well, I should first tell you the story. I saw you that first day, your pride, honor broken, on your knees, acting like a dog. And Orochimaru laughed. And that is when I realized he was a dipstick. He can't run a village, only a military operation. He can't build, he can only destroy. He is not a leader."

"Sounds like some corny Hokage speech."

"Naruto, please consider my offer. This is your, no, our only chance to escape. We can train enough to defeat him! We can become master!"

"But I don't know if I can trust you."

"Please..."

Konoha, one year from the Waterfall Incident

The lone figure leaned against a door in the streets of Konohagakure, the leaf village. Rain pelted down mercilessly, the people in the streets gingerly running for cover. But the Uchiha didn't care. Even about the everyday people running across the streets. Everybody there was already dead to him. The only person who let him see them as more than micro-organisms was gone.

Uchiha Sasuke had only a few of these lonely, cold moments. After he had come back to Konoha, he had been forgiven, even by Shikamaru, who seemed to give him the cold shoulder most of the time. He had trained alone with Kakashi-sensei, having a friendly father-son relationship. He had come to value everybody's care and friendship. He had the happiest years of his life. But they came at a price.

Naruto.

It had taken his dissapearance to give Sasuke real perspective. He admitted to himself that he had been quite a bastard. Mostly to Sakura. But Naruto was his polar opposite. Naruto had been kind to everyone, and had cherished all the love, even if it was a small amount, that everyone gave to him. He had been the best friend he had ever had.

And when Sasuke was ready, he was going to find him.

He shoved the kunai he had been gripping tightly into its holdster. He slid out an Uchiha family heirloom that Kakashi had given him. A katana.

Not any katana though. A reinforced titanium blade, covered in platinum, gold streaked handle winking. And he thought of Itachi.

When he was small, Itachi was the coolest.(A/N: And still is.) The best. The elite.

But it all ended that night.

His father, face and hands icy, lying silently in a pool of dark red blood.

His mother, newly gored by Itachi's katana, sliding silently off of the razor edged blade and landing with a thump, her life's blood soaked into the floor.

Itachi's shaded face, deathly white in the moonlight. And Sasuke was scared. Scared to death.

And as sure as he would get Naruto back to the village, would Itachi die by his blade.

End of Chapter One

Whaddya guys think? Bad? Good? Any suggestions? I know there wasn't any fighting in that scene. But I have to build up plot. Please don't flame too much. (Dodges karryu endans) And if you are going to flame, be anonymous if you are prone to using a long list of not-very-nice-words(you know what I mean) so you can get your message across to me and I can delete it and make my fic look better. Yo!


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